Opinion: Low moment has up side, not that SBW can see it

SBW's red card was born out of frustration from the way Lions centre Ben Te'o kept his All Black counterpart in check in the first test. Photo/NZME

Shoulder Bill Williams or Sorry Bill Williams - take your pick - but I'm not about to put my boot into someone who is already down.

Okay, I have always taken the moral high ground on a bloke who has an uncanny ability to turn any event into one about himself.

But sometimes you just have to be careful what you wish for.

SBW didn't just take off his jersey, pair of shorts or soggy socks for a selfie with some starry-eyed fan this time but got a collective global frown, especially from those who can distinguish right from wrong.

You see, the irony is, for once, he truly deserves accolades - no doubt, for all the wrong reasons - but he doesn't see it that way and probably won't for the rest of his career.

Lest we forget, SBW was ushered into the rugby equation from rugby league more because of his crowd-pulling power than his playing ability.

Hey, even the All Blacks Sevens gambled with the SBW card at the Rio Olympics last year and lost so, in many respects, he is still fulfilling his obligations with aplomb although his minders will argue otherwise.

I said it before the first test, and I reiterate, rugby will be the winner, at least on the paddock for now, when the All Blacks stumble.

By revealing cracks in their armour, the back-to-back world champions have begun a rugby renaissance of sorts.

I believe the All Blacks centre's shoulder shot between the eyes of Lions winger Anthony Watson was born out of sheer frustration, thanks to Lions counterpart Ben Te'o's tight leash on him in the first test.

It is unfortunate that Williams has become the sacrificial lamb when, in reality, I would have liked to have seen someone such as Te'o show how easy it is for one league convert to call the bluff of another.

Yes, Williams' ability to entice defenders and unload the ball to create yawning gaps is an asset and the ABs missed that last Saturday night in the second test.

However, I have also gone on, like a broken record, about how that is a skill you see in just about every team in the NRL.

The shot at the Cake Tin was cold and calculated. You can see on TV replays, SBW locking his eyes with Watson, grimacing and then driving in.

Watson's head bobbled back into his jersey, his head resembling that of a crash-test dummy.

By the way, how do you grant the all clear to resume play to someone who has just copped one on the noggin from a human wrecking ball?

I mean, even the likes of Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker would have needed something special to beat the count.

But there are other burning issues troubling me.

Bouquets to referee Jerome Garces, of France, for standing his ground.

It seems his assistants, Jaco Peyper (South Africa) and Roman Poite (France), were trying to dissuade him from pulling out a red card.

Ditto TMO George Ayub, of Australia.

The "Who me?" expression from Williams and his reluctance to put his head down and march off the field were priceless.

Like it or not, there's an unwritten clause that dares anyone to send off an All Black.

Is it a badge of honour that SBW is the first All Black to be sent off in almost half a century or does it question the effectiveness of officialdom in the code?

How good was the use of mega screens, to the groaning sounds of fans, at the Cake Tin to influence the decision of the referees?

I was almost expecting Garces to send off a Lion to even things out for fear of suffering the same fate as counterpart Wayne Barnes, of England.

Prop Mako Vunipola did give the Frenchman every chance but the referee hung tough.

That the citing commissioner pinged Lions flanker Sean O'Brien for a hit deemed to be reckless on winger Waisake Naholo but although an independent judicial panel cleared him it smacks of a tit-for-tat agenda.

For that matter, why didn't TV revisit All Black hooker Codie Taylor's late charge on Owen Farrell until, fleetingly, after Vunipola was sent to the naughty chair for 10 minutes?

That reserve Lions front rower Kyle Sinckler and All Black reserve linchpin TJ Perenara were having a go at each other during the team ritual of clapping each other off the paddock was obvious but Sky Sport chose to play god and censored it from the viewers.

Rugby has to take a more open-minded approach to the way it receives coverage if it is to retain credibility because, let's face it, all countries are guilty of parochialism.

Not surprisingly ABs coach Steve Hansen and Lions counterpart Warren Gatland have approached the saga with an expected dose of professionalism.

Whatever the outcome this Saturday in the series decider, Gatland and his Lions will return home heroes on the platform of a fan base that any code in the world can learn from.

Having kept the Crusaders, Chiefs and the ABs tryless on New Zealand soil warrants something special.

I expected the Black Machine to steamroll the Lions before facing England late next year for the final litmus test on where rugby is at but I realised that wasn't so when I saw the tourists making incremental gains here.

And no, any impending celebrations on the America's Cup won't soothe the pain of the All Blacks faithful any time soon.